Unless Congress intervenes by allocating additional revenue or canceling projects, the federal highway account will run out of money by Sept. 30 — the end of the 2014 fiscal year.

The mass transit account is in better shape, although its $1 billion cash balance will need to be substantially replenished moving forward.

Last week, the House of Representatives approved a short-term infusion of $10.5 billion into the Highway Trust Fund; that revenue supposedly would pay for transportation projects until May 2015. A similar response is pending in the Senate.

It is clear, however, that the problems are recurring. Since 2008, Congress has diverted $54 billion from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund, according to the Heritage Foundation.

During the past fiscal year alone, the federal fund received about $37 billion in fuel taxes but allocated about $50 billion, requiring a large general fund subsidy.

The Highway Trust Fund was created in 1956 to finance the construction of the interstate highway system.

The primary source of revenue is federal fuel taxes — 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel.

The taxes were last raised in 1993.

Revenue from those taxes has not kept up with demands for spending for three basic reasons:

The taxes are not indexed for inflation.

Gains in fuel efficiency have limited both fuel consumption and revenue increases.

Projections are that the trust-fund trends will continue to worsen without reform.

Of course, the easiest fix would be an overdue hike in the federal fuel tax. There is a strong and logical connection between fuel taxes and the need to build — and maintain — roads and bridges.

On the other hand, Americans and small businesses barely making ends meet find that a few extra pennies at the pump add up over time. And businesses are likely to pass the cost on to consumers, whether that's through a price increase or by downsizing products or services.

But a solid case can be made that well-funded accounts for highways and transit help create jobs and economic development.

Everyone knows what the national problem is and what the solutions are. The only question is: When will Congress resolve to fix the problem and implement the solutions?